Vice President JD Vance defended the Department of Justice's recent indictment decisions, pushing back against questioning that President Trump is pressuring the federal agency to prosecute his political enemies.
The big picture: Trump ignited speculation last month after a Truth Social post urged Attorney General Pam Bondi to take action against New York Attorney General Letitia James, former FBI Director James Comey and Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.).
- James and Comey have both since been indicted on federal charges, raising concerns among some Democrats that they could be next.
Zoom out: Asked during a Sunday "Meet the Press" interview about the DOJ, Vance denied that the agency's indictments of James and Comey were done on Trump's orders.
- "The president is allowed to have opinions about the law enforcement of the federal government," Vance said. "He is the chief executive officer of the federal government. Him having opinions doesn't mean that we prosecute people unless we have the legal justification to do so."
- "What we're doing is letting the law drive the prosecution's decisions in the Department of Justice. You know who we haven't prosecuted? Joe Biden, or Barack Obama, or Hillary Clinton," he said.
- James and Schiff were both accused of mortgage fraud by Trump, but Schiff has not been charged with any crime. James was charged last week with bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution.
Worth noting: Vance shrugged off reporting from ProPublica that found three members of Trump's Cabinet have multiple primary-residence mortgages, saying the news outlet is a "left-wing blog."
- "I'm not worried about what they said about members of our administration. I asked the question, what does the law say? And if the law says that you engage in mortgage fraud and a local prosecutor, a local grand jury and a -- and finally a jury convicts you of that crime, then that is how the justice system is meant to work in the United States of America," he told "This Week" host George Stephanopoulos on Sunday.
